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Mari Saito
Mari Saito (born Mariko Kaori Saito, January 24, 1987, in Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently contracted with Kansas City Wrestling, and formerly signed to the Supreme Wrestling Alliance, Professional Wrestling Today, BUD, World's Greatest E-Federation, and Wide World of Wrestling. She is also a former teen model and singer/dancer in her homeland of Japan, with rumours of a musical debut in the United States sometime in the near future. | resides = Evanston, Illinois | billed_from = Kyoto, Japan | trainers = Jiro Saito, Justin Kage, Phoenix Winterborn, Gypsy | current_efeds = KCW | previous_efeds = UPW, ASW, The Asylum, CWF, P:MI, SWA, WGEF, PWT, BUD, AoW, WWoW | debut = 2008 }} =Early Life= She is the third of five children born to Jiro and Hana Saito. She has an older brother Kenzo (28), older sister Keiko (24), younger sister Emiko (10) and younger brother Taro (13). Her family situation is rare in Japan, as it is uncommon to have such a large family. Jiro is a successful sensei of many forms of martial arts, while her mother is a stay-at-home wife. From a young age, Mari showed an interest in martial arts, so her father enrolled her in his classes. She excelled at judo, though she was adept at many different forms, such as karate, jiu-jitsu, and tae kwon do. Competing with her love of judo was her equally strong love of music and dance. Alongside her martial arts lessons, she also took dance, voice and even piano lessons. Her father was understanding of her dual hobbies, and eventually took to teaching her in private sessions to accommodate her musical training. At the age of 12, Mari was discovered by a talent scout while on her way to school. After speaking with her parents, the scout offered her a place with a prestigious Japanese modeling agency, which she agreed to. She garnered much success in different ad campaigns for various products, including clothing, cosmetics, businesses and food. She took a year off when she was 14 to study martial arts over in Seoul, Korea. She competed in a few demonstrations, and won a couple of medals in competitions. At the age of 15, she made her musical debut on a popular Japanese talk show, where she revealed that she had been working on her first album for a year or so. It hit the Oricon charts and climbed steadily, eventually making it to number one. She gained a massive following after that, becoming one of Japan's best-loved celebrities. =The Move To America= In 2004, Mari announced, via her online blog, that she planned to attend university in the United States. She had been accepted on scholarship to the Arts program at New York University, where she planned to study dance and music. She made the move and settled into her new life as a university student, while still keeping in regular touch with her online fanbase in Japan through her website blogs. While at NYU, she befriended a young girl named Max Revell, who was a business student and shared the same dormitory. The girls bonded quickly, and it was Max who introduced Mari to the world of professional wrestling. Max's older half-brother Brennan Sullivan was a professional wrestler, and Max had grown up loving the sport as well. She took Mari to see a few independent shows around New York, and the young Japanese girl quickly became enamored with the sport. Changing Paths Max used some of her contacts to help Mari score a few tryouts with different independent federations, despite Mari having no wrestling experience. However, the promoters liked her martial arts background and exotic looks, so she was picked up by a couple of different promotions in New York City. They provided her with wrestling training, and soon she became one of the most well-known indy wrestlers in New York. It wouldn't be long before professional federations began calling, and Mari took her first contract with All-Star Wrestling. With Max signed on as her manager, Mari made her professional debut on December 5, 2007. She would go on to win her first two matches, until the company unexpectedly closed its doors. Undeterred, Mari used her own personal contacts to look into other federations. =The Asylum & First Taste Of Gold= She soon heard about a place known for its somewhat unorthodox methods, called enough "The Asylum". She contacted them with her resume, and they quickly hired her to their roster. She debuted in the company in early 2008, and began rapidly climbing the ranks, eventually becoming the Asylum Vixen's Champion. =CWF & More Gold= During her time with The Asylum, Mari was also contracted with CWF. She would go on to have one of her more nasty feuds in her career when she battled Lea Skye. In February 2008, Mari was to team up with Kalila Erazo and Izabella Manning to take on the Lollipops consisting of Lea Skye, Temptress and then-CWF Women's Champion Candy James at the Bare False Witness pay-per-view. However, Mari's team mates were attacked before the match, two more victims of a mysterious string of Valkyrie attacks. Mari would go on to team with CWF Director of Talent Torrey Lyne, and even picked up the pin on Lea Skye, earning herself a future CWF Women's Title shot She went on to win the title on a March 2008 edition of Redemption, besting the champion at the time, Candy James. She held the title for a month, before it all came to a terrifying end for young Mari. In April 2008, at the War Games pay-per-view, she would face #1 contender Kenzie in a Ladder Match for the Women's title. Towards the end of the match, Kenzie delivered a devastating DDT to Mari onto the ladder, which resulted in Mari sustaining her worst injuries to date: a severe neck injury as well as a broken arm. Kenzie would go on to win the match, while Mari was put on the injured list. When her contracted expired during that time, she chose not to renew and instead rehabbed her injury and put her focus onto her schoolwork. =WGEF= Mari debuted in the WGEF on July 4, 2008. She had hesitated somewhat about returning to wrestling after her neck injury, but her older sister Keiko encouraged her to go back, knowing how much the wrestling world meant to Mari despite her apprehension. Her first few matches in, Mari's hesitation was visible, but started to fade away as she gained new confidence in the ring. Along the way, she would encounter and befriend Justin Kage, just before Kage endured a breakup with then-girlfriend Jeanette Salazar. It was then that Mari experienced her first taste of scandal, as rumours surfaced that she was the cause of the breakup and that they & Mari were involved in an affair. She has repeatedly denied it all, maintaining that she and Justin are merely friends. While participating in an overseas promotional tour in her homeland of Japan, she struck up a friendship with Chris Kinning and Phoenix Winterborn. It was around this time that she began her relationship with real-life husband Winterborn. During a backstage interaction where Winterborn was leaving on a brief hiatus, Mari would approach him and subsequently end up traveling to his Oceanside home for the weekend before she had a Rampage match. When they both returned the following week, they revealed that they had begun a relationship, which was also played out on television. To this day she has racked up some impressive wins, including one over then-WGEF Women's Champion Ivy Stratus. A tournament was held in the WGEF Women's division to determine two contenders for the vacant Women's Title, with the final match taking place at WGEF's final pay-per-view on the MSN circuit, Whatever It Takes. Mari battled Paris Jior on the February 10 edition of Rampage, only to come up on the losing end of the match and therefore eliminating her from the tournament. She continued to prove her worth in the Diva's division, never giving up on her goal to become the WGEF Women's champion. On the March 6 edition of Fight Night, Mari battled current WGEF Women's Champion Phoenix, and despite not securing the win, she proved her mettle not only to the champ, but to management as well. Over the next few weeks, she would rack up wins over the likes of Katya Rose, Eden Cross and Ivy Kinning. Having noticed her winning streak, management booked a match for the upcoming Far From Over pay-per-view card, pitting her against Women's Champion Phoenix for the title belt, with Jeanette Salazar-Sane as the special guest referee. The match took place on Sunday, April 19, 2009. She shocked the world by pinning Phoenix and capturing the WGEF Women's Championship, but her elation was short-lived. Shortly after arriving home in Oceanside, Mari was kidnapped and held hostage in an undisclosed location for the better part of a month. She eventually managed to escape and make her way to a show in Milwaukee, though she still has no recollection of what happened to her or who was behind the kidnapping. A lot of suspicions point towards WGEF Champion Ryan Payne and his stable the Golden Age, but so far nothing has been proven. Merely a week after escaping, Mari was placed in a match against Kristilin Flint at the Addicted pay-per-view, held Sunday, May 24. There was speculation that Mari would not be fully ready for a match so soon after her ordeal, but she defied everyone's expectations by agreeing to show up. Unfortunately, she would go on to lose her title to Flint. Following the match, when she went to the hospital to be with Phoenix Winterborn had injured his leg in a match prior to hers she started complaining of stomach problems and was seen by a physician. He didn't find anything physically wrong with her, but indicated that he suspected that she may be pregnant. Those reports were later confirmed when she requested a leave of absence until the beginning of 2010. A few months after the birth of her daughter Bella, she did a small tour with the company when they travelled to Japan as part of their World Tour. She didn't appear at any of the wrestling events, but participated in a few promotional appearances and autograph signings. When asked about a possible timeline for her return, she shared that she was training and working out, and hoped to be back in the ring possibly before the Christmas holiday. At the WGEF End of Year Awards ceremony, she and her husband Phoenix Winterborn were named the WGEF Couple of the Year for 2009. :Acceptance speech from the awards ceremony :"Oh wow. I honestly don't know what to say right now...It's a complete shock, that's for sure. When I think back to when I first joined with the company last year, I'm amazed at just how far I've come. Not only professionally, but personally as well. It was while I was on the WGEF tour of Asia that I met the man who now stands at my side as my husband and the father of our beautiful baby daughter. When I first arrived in the United States at age 18, I didn't have a clear picture as to how my life would turn out. Now, standing here almost five years later as a wife and mother, I couldn't have imagined a more perfect life. I'm looking forward to my return to the WGEF ring in 2010, and you can bet that the couple you see standing before you today will not only be the WGEF Couple of the Year...we'll be champions as well. Thank you!"'' On February 16, 2010, a press release from the WGEF announced that the company had parted ways with Mari. The release seemed to be her idea, and everything was settled amicably. Most have speculated that her departure had something to do with the release of her husband Phoenix, but she has neither confirmed, nor denied the rumours. Rumours have abounded that Mari may possibly be making a return to the company after she was spotted backstage at the Hecatomb pay-per-view event in Mexico City on July 4. When questioned about it, she refused to comment. The rumours were confirmed, however, when the July 15th Retribution card was revealed, in which she has a match against another returning face, Kristilin Flint. =SWA= During her time with WGEF, she also signed a contract with the up-and-coming federation Supreme Wrestling Alliance. In her first match there against Summer Fox for the SWE Women's championship, she won the title by default when a scheduling conflict prevented Fox from appearing at the arena. The following week, a rematch was scheduled between the women, with Summer walking away with the title. During the closing moments of the match, she hit Mari with her trademark move, a Lightning Spiral, which ended up knocking Mari unconscious. Following the end of the match, when Mari didn't rise up off the mat for a long time, the paramedics rushed in. At this time, it's known that Mari injured her neck, but how extensively has yet to be determined. Shortly thereafter, the company closed its doors. =BUD The Domain= In a surprising twist, she appeared at the Domain's Pay-Per-View event, Beyond Redemption on July 26, 2009, seemingly in a managerial-type role to Phoenix Winterborn was her storylined boyfriend in the federation. Her first match in the company saw her taking part in the Tag Team tournament, where she was randomly partnered with Rielle Winterborn, who happens to be the sister of her boyfriend Phoenix and the girlfriend of Phoenix's own tag team partner Michael Harris. The two women first took on the team of Roach and Ashlee Lovell, and came out with the win on the October 5th edition of Monday Night Hangover. At the show's October 12 taping, the duo won a controversial decision over Hope Sweet and Alex Sullivan, which saw the closing moments of the match erupt into chaos with the arrival of Bytch Champion and one half of the Tag champions Kit Black, Gypsy and the male half of Chi-Town's Finest, Michael Harris and Phoenix Winterborn. At the final match of the tournament on the October 19th edition of Monday Night Hangover, Mari and Rielle lost in a very close contest to Duke Andrews and Ryan Collins, when Andrews pinned her after a double team from him and Collins. Following a match at an October 27 house show in Dublin, Ohio, it was reported that Mari was involved in an altercation with a returning Krys Jericho, who had been spotted getting rather close to her ex-boyfriend romantic interest of the time Phoenix Winterborn. The two women had to be separated by officials, though it's not clear what kind of disciplinary action was taken by Domain owner Roxanna "Foxy Roxy" Garcia. :Quoted from The Domain's official website -''' :"Dublin, OH. Last night at a House Show, there was a small altercation between Mari Saito and Krys Jericho. Phoenix Winterborn, his sister Rielle, and Michael Harris were on hand to assist crew members with breaking up the fight before it got out of hand. During the mishap, Rielle received a punch to the face by Krys Jericho, which caused the tension to rise. While Michael and Phoenix were able to pull Mari Saito out of the general area, two security guards were able to hold down Krys Jericho and escort her back to her dressing room. It is unknown at this time how the fight started nor have we been told if Rielle Winterborn is pressing assault charges." She had a match at the Devil's Night IX pay-per-view event on October 30, 2009, taking on Michelle Wright in a Last Woman Standing cage match for a contendership spot for the Bytch championship. The two women battled in what turned out to be a bloodbath, something that Mari is not normally known for. They were so evenly matched and had lost so much blood that neither of them could answer the referee's 10 count, ending the match with a draw. In the second round of the Road to Bytchdom tournament, Mari was eliminated by White Trash on the November 9th episode of Hangover after a hard-fought battle. It seems that she hasn't taken her streak of bad luck too well, as it was reported that after the match, she was acting out-of-sorts. She was in a foul temper, refusing to give interviews and shutting herself in her locker room for the remainder of the night, until she escaped to her hotel room. She hasn't been seen at any house shows or shown up for any Hangover tapings since the incident, with speculation being that Roxy has taken pity on the girl and given her some time off to clear her head and get refocused. Another theory is that Mari is upset with the fact that not only did Krys Jericho return to the picture, but another of Phoenix's ex-flames re-signed with the Domain, Talon Hartman, who wasted no time in letting her "intentions" be known to Phoenix. On November 30, she stepped into the ring to face off against Jennifer Smith and Tara Jada Rossdale in a triple threat bout on Monday Night Hangover, with White Trash as the special guest referee. In a return to form, Mari easily defeated the two women, and even gained some measure of respect from White Trash herself, who raised Mari's hand after the match. Following that match, she is now sporting a short bobbed haircut, has changed her theme music, and has a new sassy attitude to match. She has said that she "is tired of being underestimated" and looks to be doing everything in her power to change people's perceptions about her. The feud with Krys Jericho was reignited after a brief hiatus. When Mari interrupted Mason Caine's brutal beating of Athreiu for revenge on behalf of Phoenix Winterborn on the December 7th edition of Hangover, it was Krys Jericho that came to the aid of the Japanese Jewel, to everyone's shock and awe. But the shock was short-lived as during Mari's match with Gypsy, Krys ended up bashing Mari with a steel chair, causing a disqualification in Mari's favour. While it had seemed that Krys was originally aiming for Gypsy, she came out and said afterwards that she didn't regret hitting Mari. The next week, on the December 14th airing of Hangover, the two women were forced to team up along with Phoenix Winterborn to take on the team of Gypsy, Mason Caine and Sofie Suicide. Towards the end of the match, their emotions boiled over and they ended up attacking each other on the ring apron, leaving Phoenix to suffer a brutal beating and pin at the hands of Mason Caine. At the Krystmas Kaos pay-per-view on December 20, Mari and Krys competed in a vicious grudge match. Unfortunately for Mari, all her aggression and animosity for Krys Jericho would be for naught, as she would suffer a loss at the hands of her rival. Following that match, sources say that Mason Caine and Sofie Suicide approached Mari outside the arena, though no one knows just what was said in the brief meeting. The first Hangover of 2010, Mari was pinned by current Bytch Champion Kaydence Starr. Just before the match, Mari was interviewed by Blair Butler and revealed that she had a meeting with an unknown person just before the event, and was seen entering an unmarked locker room. Rumours are running rampant about the nature of the meeting and who it may be with. Mari returned to her winning ways with a vicious victory over Tara Jada Rossdale on the January 11th Hangover show. A shockwave went through the company when at the January 18th edition of Hangover, Mari Saito arrived for her match against Phoenix Winterborn with Phoenix's long-time rival Gypsy in her corner. She would go on to gain some measure of revenge as she picked up the win over her former flame. Following a devastating loss to a returning Kit Black at the company's 2010 Wayz 2 Die pay-per-view event held on January 31, it was reported that early Monday morning, Mari was involved in a serious car accident. :''Official press release -'' :Early Monday morning, following the end of the Domain pay-per-view event 2010 Wayz 2 Die, it was reported that one of the company's stars was involved in a serious vehicle accident while traveling from Louisville to New York City. :Sources say that 23 year old Mari Saito was traveling along the I-81 highway and was just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania when it appears that she lost control of her vehicle and struck the center divider, spinning out and flipping the car several times before it landed in a ditch at the side of the road. Police are still investigating, but can say for sure that alcohol or drugs were not a factor. She was rushed to nearby Lancaster General Hospital, and later airlifted to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, where she remains in critical condition. :A brief statement released by the hospital said that Saito "is very touch and go at this point. It could go either way." :After undergoing several hours of surgery to repair massive internal injuries, it's being reported that Mari Saito has now fallen into a coma while in the intensive care unit at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. Doctors are still unsure if she will be able to make a full recovery, or if she will even awake from the coma. :Her family arrived in New York late Tuesday afternoon and immediately rushed to her bedside. Jiro Saito, Mari's father, spoke to reporters late Wednesday afternoon regarding his daughter's condition. "Right now, she is resting as comfortably as she is able," the soft-spoken man said, with the help of a translator. "We ask that her friends and fans keep her in their prayers at this difficult time." She shocked the world on March 21, 2010, when she made her return during the broadcast of the BUDMania pay-per-view. Following the Bytch Championship match which saw Krys Jericho retain her belt, Mari made her way to the ring accompanied by none other than Gypsy, with whom she had formed a new alliance. No words were exchanged between any of the women, but it was clear that Mari was coming for that belt. She made her in-ring return on the April 5 edition of Monday Night Hangover, taking on Silver Stone. The two women battled fiercely, but Mari put an exclamation point on her return with a devastating win over Silver. The April 12 edition of Hangover saw her face off against two new comers to the Domain, Carmella Crest and Hadley Harper. Some confusion ensued towards the end of the match, but it was Mari that picked up the win. The next week, on the April 19 Hangover, Mari and Gypsy won a triple threat Women's Tag Team match, facing off against Tiffany Morris & Carmella Crest, and Krys Jericho and Arissa Jordan. The match ended when Mari hit the Hanagumori on Tiffany for the pin. After the match, Krys and Mari began brawling inside the ring, while Gypsy and Carmella fought outside of it. After a brief hiatus, Mari returned to television, this time in a managerial role to Ryan Collins. The two were reportedly fed up with being treated like "second-class citizens" around BUD, and made no bones about their displeasure with management. They were also seemingly in a carnal relationship. The gimmick didn't last long, as most people weren't convinced that Mari could play an effective heel. After another brief hiatus from television, a promotional video was released, showing Mari vacationing on a tropical island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. She made no mention of her return to BUD, so only time will tell what the young woman has in store. =Professional Wrestling Today= Mari signed with PWT on July 29, 2010. She released a short promotional video, hyping her arrival to the company. She made her television debut on August 7 at Shockwave, participating as one of the Lumberjills in two different women's matches Lyons vs. Lilian Hart & Mikah vs. Ginny Genocide. Following the Shockwave taping, Mari ran into her onscreen mentor and friend Phoenix Winterborn. The two were seen chatting some reports saying there was a kiss shared, though it has yet to be confirmed by either party. Shortly after they parted ways, Mari was accosted by two members of the Natural Selection stable, Jacob Mitchell and Bedlam. Once she had escaped, she was then approached by another member, Christian Othniel. While at first she was frightened, she quickly realized that he wasn't a threat to her, and eventually ended up kicking him in the genitals. Her in-ring debut followed the week after, on August 14, when she faced off in the first match of Shockwave against Nina Angel. She made an impressive debut, nailing Nina with the Hanagumori and picking up the win. Following the match, however, both women were attacked by a former employee known as Lady Mystique. Mari was sprayed in the face with a green mist and thrown out of the ring. =Personal Life= Mari's hobbies include shopping, dancing, and photography. She is close to her family, and visits them as often as possible. She moved to Oceanside, California from her New York apartment that she had been calling home for the past three years since her arrival to the United States. The reason behind the move was due to her relationship with fellow WGEF superstar Phoenix Winterborn. With this move, she transferred to the University of California in San Diego from New York University and graduated in June 2009 at the top of her class in dance. With the reopening of BUD and its relocation to the Chicago area, Phoenix and Mari have moved into an 11,000 square foot home in nearby Evanston, Illinois. She adopted a Chihuahua-mix breed puppy, who she named Sakura known as "Squeaks" by Phoenix and who travels with her nearly everywhere she goes. On July 11, 2009, she married Phoenix Winterborn in a private sunset ceremony on the beach at their Oceanside, California home. She has taken his last name legally, and is now known as Mari Winterborn in her wrestling career she still goes by Mari Saito. On October 2, 2009 at 12:45 a.m., Mari gave birth to her first child, a daughter with her husband Phoenix Winterborn. Bella Aiko Winterborn was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches long. She sent shockwaves throughout the world when she announced on April 20, 2010 that she was divorcing Phoenix. There was no detailed reason given, but she simply stated that "things were not working between them." The proceedings seemed to have stalled for the time being, with many speculating that they two may reconcile. The divorce has since been officially called off, and the two seem to be happier than ever. On September 29, 2011 at 4:13 p.m., Mari and Phoenix welcomed their second child, a boy they named Noah Hayate. She was further along in the pregnancy than she had originally thought, resulting in Noah's surprising arrival, but was still born three weeks premature. He was 6 pounds 4 ounces and 20 inches long. After a short hospital stay for Noah, they are both home, with Mari already talking about returning to wrestling in the near future, possibly by the end of the year. =Moveset= Mari incorporates a variety of martial arts moves into her mostly high-flyer's moveset. Basic Moves *Russian Legsweep *Drop Toehold *Tani Otoshi throw *Curved Knee Strike *Bulldog *Clothesline *Standing Dropkick *Fujiwara Armbar *Monkey Flip *Butterfly Kick *Crossbody *Baseball Slide *Legdrop *Kani Basami Scissors judo throw *Enzuigiri Submission Moves *'Yamabuki' [Stretch Plum] *Guillotine Choke Trademark Moves *'Kaze Hikaru' [360 Crescent Kick, dropping down into the splits and driving a fist into the opponent's chest] *'Mawashi Geri' [Roundhouse Kick - setup move] *Open palm strike to the chest [setup move] Finishing Moves *'Hanagumori' [Impaler DDT] *'Uzume Rising' [Cradle Driver] =Entrance Music= *'"Lose Your Mind"' by BoA feat. Yutaka Furukawa *'"Girl In The Mirror"' by BoA *'"Unstoppable"' by Kat DeLuna *'"Rockstar 101"' by Rihanna *'"For Your Entertainment"' by Adam Lambert *'"Automatic"' by Danny Fernandes feat. Belly current =Accomplishments & Achievements= *WGEF Women's Champion *SWE Women's Champion *The Asylum Vixxen's Champion *CWF Women's Champion *Undefeated in her first two professional matches ASW =Trivia/Facts= * Mari speaks many languages, including her native Japanese, English, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and French. * She has been approached to star in movies on more than one occasion. While she has always turned them down, it has been reported that she is considering a few offers. * She still retains some of her Japanese accent when she speaks English, as well as her Kansai accent when speaking Japanese. is a dialect eminating from the Kansai region in Japan, where Mari was born and raised * While she has stayed single through most of her professional career, she began dating fellow WGEF Superstar Phoenix Winterborn shortly after arriving to the WGEF. The couple were wed in a small private ceremony on July 11, 2009. The birth of their first child, a daughter named Bella Aiko Winterborn, occurred on October 2, 2009 at 12:45 a.m. Their son Noah Hayate Winterborn was born September 29, 2011 at 4:13 p.m. * She enjoys designing her own ring attire with her older sister Keiko, who is a rising star in the fashion world. Keiko has designed and made many of Mari's ring outfits, as well as her street clothes and outfits for photo shoots. She also designed and made Mari's wedding dress for her marriage to Phoenix Winterborn. * She is an avid amateur photographer, who keeps her pictures in a personal scrapbook. * Her family tree includes a number of famous geisha, and she has taken lessons in various geisha activities, such as dance, tea ceremony and the shamisen. Mari Saito Mari Saito Category:Female Wrestlers Category:Female professional wrestlers Category:Martial artists Category:Wrestlers Category:1987 Births